Getting into the military with domestic.

What is the name of your state? California

Last Year, May 24th of 2006 I was arrested and plead no contest to a felony domestic violence charge. The charge being "Corporal Injury to a Spouse." I hired a lawyer and he got me a decent plea agreement. Complete a 52 week class and the felony gets dropped to a misdemeanor. So I've done my class and currently awaiting my court date to get my charges reduced. My plea agreement also includes expungement after 2 years of the misdemeanor. I am also going from formal to informal probation as per my plea agreement with the charge reduction.

What are, if any, the steps I can take to get my 2nd Ammendment rights back so that I can join the military as soon as possible. I know I will be able to join in two years once I get my misdemeanor charge expunged. I will be 24 then and I really don't want to sit around and wait for that to happen. If I could get my civil rights back I would join tomorrow. Can the army waive such a charge like this? Even though my right to bear arms is affected through the Lautenberg ammendment. Also, what are the chances of getting a charge like this expunged early? I've heard that it's state legislation that i be on probation for a total of 3 years with any combination of formal or informal.

Last Year, May 24th of 2006 I was arrested and plead no contest to a felony domestic violence charge. The charge being "Corporal Injury to a Spouse." I hired a lawyer and he got me a decent plea agreement. Complete a 52 week class and the felony gets dropped to a misdemeanor. So I've done my class and currently awaiting my court date to get my charges reduced. My plea agreement also includes expungement after 2 years of the misdemeanor. I am also going from formal to informal probation as per my plea agreement with the charge reduction.

What are, if any, the steps I can take to get my 2nd Ammendment rights back so that I can join the military as soon as possible. I know I will be able to join in two years once I get my misdemeanor charge expunged. I will be 24 then and I really don't want to sit around and wait for that to happen. If I could get my civil rights back I would join tomorrow. Can the army waive such a charge like this? Even though my right to bear arms is affected through the Lautenberg ammendment. Also, what are the chances of getting a charge like this expunged early? I've heard that it's state legislation that i be on probation for a total of 3 years with any combination of formal or informal.

Thanks for your time.

Once you see what the Court is going to say and do, then, I suggest you revisit us with your update. In the meantime,
you can make it clearly known to your Lawyer and the Court, that you would like to join the Military.

Speak with your Lawyer about any chance of an earlier expungement. Because you stated it is a federal misdemeanor,
it might not be that simple to do!

Ecc 7:1 A good name [is] better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

"There are two letter[s] in the word of [Life] that, in part gives direct meaning to it, "IF."" By /SL/ aka., April 23, 2008

Only by cutting through the darkness of ignorance, and prejudice can we achieve true justice; and
to all those who corrupt the search for truth be warned, the "Sword of Justice" cuts both ways!

The Army can not 'waive' the Lautenberg requirements, and as a matter of policy will not enlist people whose use of a firearm is restricted. I've heard of no exceptions ever made. You'll have to get the matter resolved with the courts before the military will deal with you.

I believe he may still be able to enlist given that the Lautenberg Amendment covers only qualifying convictions. Expunged convictions may not automatically dq him. Please see below.

B. “Qualifying” Convictions. The definitions of “domestic violence” and “conviction” are complex. “Conviction” does NOT include, however, Article 15s, summary court-martial convictions, deferred prosecution (or similar dispositions) in civilian courts, or judgments that have been expunged or set-aside. Legal assistance attorneys can help you determine whether you have a conviction covered by the Lautenberg Amendment.

A clearance may or may not be effected, if he even needs one at all. The adjudicator will consider a number of factors and if this is his only strike then it may not impact him at all.

Also, if he joins the Army or Marine Corps the odds he'll need a clearance are lower than the Navy or Air Force. I think there are only one or two rates in the Navy that don't require at least a secret clearance, the Air Force may be pretty similar. If he's an 11x or 0311 he would probably need a clearance only for deployment.

Your offense CLEARLY qualifies under the Lautenberg Amendment. Whether it is open for public viewing or expunged, the fingerprints will hit on the FBI database after you enlist. All that shows on the "rap sheet" is the date of the fingerprinting, and the offense you were arrested for (Ex: 20060524/FEL/Cpl Inj.Spouse).

You will now be required to produce all of the legal documents from the Court. The story comes out. You are permanently disqualified from Military Service.

Your current situation is considered an "OAD". For all intensive purposes, the military considers an "OAD" equivalent to "GUILTY".

Reference AR 601-210:

4–2. Moral and administrative disqualifications...

e. Suitability will be determined by the following:...

(a) Suitability review will be conducted on the following charges prior to any moral waiver processing on all
applicants (the appropriate review level is also noted):...

5. Any offenses listed as suitability review with appropriate approval level in paragraph 4–11. Domestic battery/violence charge, includes but is not limited to, charge(s) of domestic violence, assault, simple assault, assault and battery, battery, assault with the intent to commit bodily harm, assault on a person, or abuse by an applicant against his/her parent, step-parent, sister, or brother, regardless of disposition. Recruiting Battalion Leadership Team will forward all such cases to USAREC Plans and Policy for review if determined that they fall under the Lautenburg Amendment.
6. Domestic battery/violence charge as defined under Lautenburg law, regardless of disposition (see definition in paragraph 4–7f)...

The "OAD" definition:

4–32. Rules governing processing of moral waivers...

b. To ensure equal treatment to all persons applying for enlistment, despite the variance in State statutes, the rules below are guides to those responsible for processing waivers...

(2) Other adverse dispositions. This term includes all law violations that are not civil court convictions (para 4–32b (1)(b)), but which resulted in an arrest or citation for criminal misconduct, followed by the formal imposition of penalties or any other requirements upon the offender by any governmental agency or court.
(3) Examples of other adverse dispositions. Some examples of other adverse dispositions include—
(a) Admission into diversionary or similar programs.
(b) Admission into an adult first-offender program.
(c) Deferred acceptance of guilty plea programs or probated sentence.
(d) Tried as a youthful offender.
(e) Enrollment in supervision programs.
(f) Orders to pay restitution, pay a fine, serve community service, pay court costs, attend classes, or serve probationary periods that do not constitute civil court convictions.
(g) Adjudication withheld and suspended imposition of sentence.
(h) Unconditional suspended sentence and unsupervised unconditional probation. These terms are defined as a court imposed suspended sentence or probationary status.

And if you try to enlist without telling anyone (thinking we can't find the "expunged" record):

f. Applicants enlisting in the DEP/DTP/DS who conceal charges that require a waiver will be discharged. All DEP/DTP/DS applicants discharged under this paragraph will incur a 6-month waiting period from date of separation orders and require a fraudulent enlistment waiver from the recruiting battalion commander along with any additional waivers as noted in this chapter. The waiting period is for administrative and evaluation purposes.

In other words, it would not be wise to even try to hide the charge. It WILL be found. You WILL be caught. You WILL have to wait an additional 6 months from the time you are found out to even ATTEMPT a waiver for enlistment.

If you want to verify my answer, go to any Recruiting Station with a copy of all your paperwork and ask the Station Commander if you will ever qualify for enlistment.

FreeAdvice® has been providing millions of consumers with outstanding advice, free, since 1995. While not a substitute for personal advice from a licensed professional, it is available AS IS, subject to our Disclaimer and Terms & Conditions Of Use.

IMPORTANT NOTICEFreeAdvice.com has been providing millions of consumers with outstanding information and "advice" free since 1995 with thousands of professionally prepared and reviewed articles, questions and answers in more than 100 categories in the Question and Answerpages at FreeAdvice.com. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS AND OTHER FORUM PAGES WERE NOT REVIEWED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OR ATTORNEYS AT FREEADVICE.COM and are provided AS IS. The FreeAdvice Forums are intended to enable consumers to benefit from the experience of other consumers who have faced similar legal issues. FreeAdvice does NOT vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any posting on the Forums or the identity or qualifications of any person asking questions or responding on the Forums. Use of the Forums is subject to our Disclaimer and our Terms and Conditions of use which prohibit advertisements, solicitations or other commercial messages, or false, defamatory, abusive, vulgar, or harassing messages, and subject violators to a fee for each improper posting. All postings reflect the views of the author but become the property of FreeAdvice. Information on FreeAdvice or a Forum is never a substitute for personal advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction you have retained to represent you. To locate an attorney visit AttorneyPages.com. Copyright since 1995 by Advice Company. All Rights Reserved.